Self-locking container



D. J. RIQHAR'QSQN SELF LOCKING CONTAINER je i? i924?.

Filed Sept. l5, 1922 IN VEA/Tor;

g z O: l Le:

ffy/MW Patented June 17, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SELF-LOCKING CONTAINER.

Application md september 1s, 1922. serial No. seams.

To all 'whom z't may concern.

Be it vknown that I DAVID J. RICHARD- soN, a citizen of the Uznited States, and residing in the city of Pittsburgh county of Allegheny and State of lennsylvania, have invented or discovered new, useful, and Improved Self-Locking Containers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in new and useful improvements in self-locking containers for the mailing or otherwise shipping of goods and articles of value.

More particularly,r my invention relates to self-locking containers which must be mutilated before access may be had to their interiors, so that their contents may not be tampered with by unauthorized persons without at once advertising the fact by the mutilated condition of the container.

One of the objects which I have in view is the provision of eicient locking means which, when the goods or articles are placed in the box and the lid is puton, will automatically lock the container shut in such a manner that it cannot be opened and access had to its contents without seriously mutilating the container and permanently destroying the locking means.

For the accomplishment of this purpose I provide a container which is comprised of two main elements, a box of suitable dimensions to properly contain the goods or articles to be shipped, and a lid provided with a continuous, depending perimetral flange which fits down over the walls of the box. To the inner face of the end walls of the box, and also, if desired, of the side walls of the box, and near their top I rmly attach spring metal hook members with their relatively long. hook ends disposed toward the interiorl of the box and extending toward its bottom. Preferably surrounding the ends and the front of each of said hook members is a sheet metal guard which prevents tampering with the hook member, and also acts asa ide for the coacting hook members of t e lid.V The lid is provided with an equal number of sprin metal hook membersy adapted to be engage with the hook members of the box when the lid is in place, said lid hook members bein attached firmly to the top of the box an depending in such a manner that when in the hook member, and guard and guide structure which m-ay be Aadvantageously cut and bent,

up from sheet metal.

Heretofore when the lid lis placed on a self-locking container, it is automatically locked in place, and the container or Alid must be mutilated before the container can .be opened.

The result is that when the manufacturer delivers an order of self-locking containers to a customerr the lids and boxes must be packed separately, or the locking means are supplied separately and must be installed by the customer before he uses the containers. The one method increases shi ping bulk and thus adds to the freig t charges, while the other method imposes duties upon the customer which he is frequently not equipped to perform properly. It would be of the greatest advantage for the manufacturer to shi the containers with the lids fitted on the oxes but unlocked, and the smaller sizes of containers nested in the larger sizes.

Therefore, a second object which I have in view is the provision of means whereby, when desired, the hook members may be prevented from interengaging and locking to ether when the lid is placed on the box.

accomplish this purpose by mounting one of each pair of coacting hook members in such a way that it may be moved toone side, so as not to interengage with the other hook member when the lid is placed on the box.

My preferred method of accomplishing this end is by hinging the lid hook members to the lid so that they may be turned up flat against the lid to clear the box hook members when the lid is placed on the box. x

Other 'novel features of construction and arrangement of parts will appear `from the,

following description.

In the accompanying drawin s, which are, however, merely intended to illustrate the principles of my invention without limting the scope of the latter to the exact construction shown, Fig. l is a perspective of s a. self-locking container embodying the principlesof nay-invention, the ,lid being par- 5 tially broken Iaway to show one .of the box hook members and its guide; Fig. 2 is a vbroken sectional view of the container showing the coacting and interlocked hook members of thebox and lid; Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective of one of the lid hook m'embers'turnedy at .an angle to its position in Fig. 2; Fig. '4 is a broken perspective of one of the box hook members and guide structures, and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the metal blank which is bent up to form the same.

The following is a description of the drawings.

The container proper is composed of two 2'0 main elements, the box A and the lid B, the latter being provided with a continuous, dependingV perimetral ange 1 which ts down over the side and end walls of the box A when the lid is in place.

The inner Afaces of the end walls of the box A, and also the side walls thereof if so desired, are provided neartheir top edges wlth spring metal locking hooks 2 with their /relatively long hooked ends turned down and facing the interior of the box.

bers 3 having their relatively short hooked.

ends lowermost and faced outwardly toward the edges of the lid.

When the lid is placed on the box the pairs of box and lid hook members spring into interlocking engagement, as shown in Fig; 2.

o properly direct the hook members into interlocking engagement, I provide the guides 4, one of which is parallel with each of the box hook members and suiiiciently spaced inwardly therefrom to compress the coacting hook members together as the lid hook member is forced down between the guide and the box hook member, such compression causing`their hooked ends to spring into the interlocking engagement shown in Fig. 2 when the lid is forced into place on the box.

' I prefer to form the box hook members 2 integral with their guides 4 by cutting or stampln a blank substantially as shown in Fig. 5, t e dotted line a indicating the bend which formsthe lip of the hook member 2 while the dotted lines b and c show the lines of bends which form the bottom 5 of the combined structure which connects the hook member 2 with the guide 4;. The dotted lines d and e show the lines of bends which form the end walls 6, and thel ears 7 which are -pierced for rivets 8 by means of which the combined structure may be -riveted to the wall of the box, or, as shown in the drawings, to awooden or other cleat 9 which may be glued or otherwise secured to the wall of the box.

To enable the lid hook members 3 to be swung aside, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, so as not to engage with the box hook member 2 when the lid is put in place, I hinge the shank of the hook member 3, as at 10, to a base-plate 1l which is riveted or otherwise secured to the lid. In the drawings I have shown the base-plate 11 riveted to a wooden vor other cleat12 which is glued or otherwise' secured to the lid.

By swinging the lid hook members 3 up out of the way, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the lid is prevented from being locked into place when put on the box, thus enabling the box to be delivered by the manufacturer to a customer, with the lid on, and with smaller sizes o'f containers nested inside. The hinge connection 10 is preferably sufficiently tight and stiff to hold the hook members up against the lid when they are turned up.

If desired an inner box may be used to contain the goods or articles to be shipped, but the sameis not necessary, as access may not be had to the locking members when the container has been closed and locked, without mutilatin the container so seriously as to advertise t e fact that it has been tampered with to all by whom it is seen.

The inclosing of the box hook members 2 bv the guides 4, the bottoms 5, and the end walls 6 prevents the contents of the container from coming into contact with or. ,interferinof with the action of the hook members in loctking the container. It also adapts the container for use in shipping loose or bulk goods such as wholel or ground coEee and the like.

*The guide also insures eiicient interengagement between the coacting hook members, holding them in proper alinement and resilient contact and'engagement.

What I desirel to claim is 1. In a self-locking container for the purpose described, the combination of a box, a.

llO

lid provided with a depending flange adapted to lit the` exterior wall of the box when the lid is placed in position, and automatic locking means for securing said lid in place, said locking means comprising a resilient metal hook attached to the wall of the box and depending therein with its hookedend facing away from the wall of the box, a second hook member attached to the lid and depending therein with its hooked end in a position reverse to that of the hooked end of the rst mentioned hook, and a transversely disposed guide attached to the wall of the box and extendin in front ofthe first mentioned hook, sai guide being engaged by the second named hook as the lid is placed down on the box and acting to force and menare lock the said second named hook into spring engagement with the first named hook.

2. In a self-locking container for the purose described, the combination of a box, a id provided with a depending flange adapted torfit the exterior wall of the box when the lid is placed in position, and automatic locking means for securing said lid in place,

said locking means comprising a resilient metal hook attached to the wall of the box and depending therein with.` its hooked end facing away from the wall of the box, a second hook member attached to the lid and depending therein with its hooked end in a position reverse to that of the hooked end of the first mentioned hook, and a transversely disposed guide attached to the wall of the box and extending in front of the first mentioned hook, said guide being engaged by the second named hook as the lid is placed down on the box and acting to force and lock the said second named hook into spring engagement with the first named hook, said second named hook being pivotally attached to the lid so that it may be swung aside to prevent its engagement with-the first named hook when the lid is placed in lposition for the purpose described.

3. In a self-locking container for the purpose described, the combination of a box, a lid provided with a depending flange adapted to fit the exterior of the box, and automatic locking means for securing the lid on the box member and comprising a resilient hook member mounted on the inner wall of the box and extending upwardly and inwardly thereof, a second hook member depending from the lid and faced toward the flange of the latter7 said second named hook member being adapted to be brought into interlocking engagement with the first named hook member when the lid is placed on the box, and an inclosure surrounding the rst named hook member, said inolosure being open at the top for the insertion of the second named hook member.

4. In a self-locking container for the purposes described, the combination of a box, a lid provided with a depending flange adapted to fit the exterior of the box, and automatic locking means for securing the lidv on the box member and comprising a resilient hook member mounted on the inner wall of the box and extending upwardly and inwardly thereof, a second hook member depending from the lid and faced toward the flange of the latter, said second named hook member being adapted to be brought into interlocking engagement with the first named hook member when the lid is placed on the box, and means whereby the second named hook member may be moved aside to avoid engagement with the first named hook member.

5. In a self-locking container for the purposes described, the combination of a box, a lid provided with a depending flange adapted to fit the exterior of the box, and automatic locking means for securing the lid on the box member and comprising a resilient hook member mounted on the inner wall of the box and extending upwardly and inwardly thereof, a second hook member depending from the lid and faced toward the flange of the latter, said second named hook member being adapted to be brought into interlocking engagement with the first named hook member when the lid is placed on the box, the second named hook member being pivoted to the lid sothat it may be swung aside to avoid engagement with the first named hook member.

Signed at Pittsburgh, Pa., this 11th day of Sept., 1922.

DAVID J. RICHARDSON. 

